Find yourself a cheerleader! Key advice for women in HR from Zuzka Peskova, the head of HR at a tech company. She shares how having a mentor can help you not only with a career transition, but also with brainstorming ideas and facing unexpected challenges. Read our interview with the HR expert and learn how mentoring can change your life.
Zuzka is the head of HR at Livesport, a Femme Palette mentor, and an owner of two black cats. She has worked in multiple departments from operations to testing, until she landed a job in HR. Right now, she focuses on HR strategy, decision making, identifying the needs of a company and developing a great service for both the employees and the candidates. Her experience also includes working with communities, hiring and recruitment, admin, legal compliance and other areas of HR. Recently, someone called her the Swiss army knife of companies’ HR.
My motivation to do HR links directly with what I was studying at university - sociology and social anthropology. For me, it has always been about people. However, I don’t like to call HR human resources but rather human relations - connections between communities, employees and candidates are crucial. That is why I chose to work in HR.
I already knew mentoring from my previous work, where we had 1-on-1 sessions discussing personal development. The Femme Palette mentoring program has a clear structure, elevated and enriching guidelines which I believe helped me become a better mentor. After Femme Palette matches you with the mentee, the greates challenge is to establish a strong connection with a person you haven’t met before. Luckily, in the case of my mentee, it worked brilliantly and I am convinced that it is going to be a great journey for both of us.
From a mentee’s perspective, it is great to have someone to share your thoughts and experience with. It can be someone more senior than you who can also help you brainstorm new ideas. From the position of a mentor, I am grateful for the opportunity to encourage someone to find their strengths and identify areas for improvement. Being able to give someone the extra push and inspire them to be courageous and confident brings joy to my life as a mentor.
“We all need a cheerleader in our life and the Femme Palette community is where you can find it!”
Mentoring is valuable also for those not considering a career transition. It always helps to hear ‘you can do it’ and ‘you are not alone’. Discussing your fears with someone else gives you a new perspective and helps you realise that what is happening to you happens in other companies too and it is okay. Being mentored is definitely worth it.
In the Czech Republic it is now becoming a buzzword, but it has always existed here. Czechs are open minded and willing to share. We are also keen to listen to others with different perspectives. Recently, mentoring became more institutionalised but I believe it has been around for years.
I would encourage anyone to join the Femme Palette community, not only because of the mentoring but also to be a part of a group where you can share and listen. We all need a cheerleader in our life and this is where you can find it! Having great people around you will help you deal with whatever challenge might come your way.
Finding a cheerleader can be easier than you think and it can have a huge impact on your career. If you enjoy working with people and participating in a community, join the Femme Palette mentoring for women in HR and add a new dimension to your HR career.
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